If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Is all of this talk about clouds keeping people's heads in the fog?

I first put my hand on a computer in 1978....well, to be honest, I never touched the computer, but only the card punch that I needed to use to generate umpteen thousand cards for the program I was writing. Since that time I have always been able to keep my fingers in the IT pie. But there is one thing that is just making me scratch my head - maybe I missed something? Isn't the use of the "Cloud" or whatever people are calling their service a huge potential breach in security - even a threat to national security? The debate about centralized vs. distributed computer processing has been raging since the first printers printed snoopy calendars using x's and o's. It seems that distributed is loosing? "ohhhhh", I hear, "but it is safe. There are experts who are protecting the date". Like the Pentagon doesn't have experts working for them, and they seem to have a sign on their digital butts that says "hack me"!!

Isn't the use of the "Cloud" or whatever people are calling their service a huge potential breach in security

No, it would depend on what you have available as resources and how good they were. For a small outfit the cloud provider may well have the better able security resources, and of a higher quality. It is really a matter of trust.

even a threat to national security?

Only the NSA is a threat to national security......and they should be using private secure networks and clouds.

The debate about centralized vs. distributed computer processing has been raging since the first printers printed snoopy calendars using x's and o's. It seems that distributed is loosing?

I guess "What goes around comes around"? my Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures division was far more secure than the guys who made airliners obviously it HAD to be distributed.

The Pentagon has the problem of a large number of staff, and a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. Some of my co-workers have been extremely weak links..............how about you, anything similar?

Cheers,

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?

Hi,
It also depends on from what perspective you are looking at it. As nihil said from a buisness point of view it can allow a company a better IT platform than they could normally invest in. Of course, once you dont have total control of your enviroment you are giving up security but while I wouldnt say it comes down to trust, you do have SLA's and contracts which can limit the risks.
The biggest secuirty risk from cloud systems is when employees use "FREE" cloud services. As was pointed out in a security seminar i went to, if a company is not making money selling you a service they are making it selling you.
Muracu

\"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.\"
\"The reason we are so pleased to find other people\'s secrets is that it distracts public attention from our own.\"
Oscar Wilde(1854-1900)

while I wouldnt say it comes down to trust, you do have SLA's and contracts which can limit the risks.

Yeah, perhaps "trust" wasn't quite the best word, as you wouldn't do business with an outfit you didn't trust. Perhaps "confidence" or "belief" would be better?

What I am saying is you need to believe that the partner you choose will do the job properly, and do it up-front. All the contractual terms and SLAs in the World won't diminish the risk................but they may cover your butt if things turn pear-shaped.

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?